Lost
by rhaegars
Summary: The dead prey on the living and the living prey on the weak. In a world full of flesh eating corpses roaming around, who do you have to worry about more, the living or the dead?
1. Chapter 1

"Straighten up your back, line up your shoulders. Your aim is all wrong."

_Nag. Nag. Nag. That's all you ever do._

Carl Grimes is Officer Rick's son. He is a bossy brat who taught her gun training. He was only ever nice to her once, when he first met her.. Before things got too bad. He stopped being so kind when a walker got his mom.

_Walkers_ are what everyone started calling them, the undead nasty pieces of shit that ruined all their lives. The world went to shit after the virus spread, people got fevers and puked blood and before you know it, they start eating other living people. Word spread that the diseased weren't living anymore, and you were to stay away at all costs.

Now, the living kill the dead and the dead kill the living. Kill or be killed.

"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying, Naomi?"

Naomi rolled her eyes. She always listened to him, even when she hated every word coming out of his mouth she still listened.

Carl and her have been in a group together for about 6 months now. They met right before Atlanta, before they found out the safe zone had been overrun.

Their group consisted of 11 people now, Carl and his father, Rick. Another officer named Shane Walsh, who was Rick's best friend. A woman named Carol. Two redneck brothers named Daryl and Merle Dixon. A Korean named Glenn. A blonde named Andrea and her twin nephews named Billy and Ben. And Naomi herself.

"Oh I'm listening, officer. I hear you loud and clear." Naomi said looking behind her and gave Carl a wink.

Carl scoffed. "Quit being sarcastic."

"Quit being so bossy." She shot back.

Carl and her were both 18. Pissed off teenagers with dead parents in a world full of dead people, it doesn't get any better than that really.

Naomi aimed for her target, a beer bottle to the left of her, resting on a fence just about 15 feet away.

She shot and missed, by a mere inch.

Naomi growled in frustration. "This is absolute bullshit!"

"Well, on the bright side you can't get any worse." Carl smirked at her.

Naomi shoved her shoulder into him as she walked past. "At least I know how to use a knife properly."

If it was anything her father taught her, it was how to use a knife.

That's who she was with at the start of the apocalypse, they made their way to Atlanta and met up with everyone. When they got to Atlanta a lot of people died, her dad included.

Naomi didn't watch her father die, but when Rick grabbed her and told her to go with him he told her he'd take care of her now. Her father must have made Rick promise to look after her. Naomi wished that she could have said goodbye.

She tried not to think about it, like she tried to not think about her mother. Her mother lived in Florida, she didn't know how bad it was there but she could only assume the worst.

Naomi and Carl headed back towards the house they had found refuge in, a big yellow house with traps set around the outside for wandering walkers. The house was a dream come true for them, they were all on the road for a few weeks before they found the place. The cabinets were full of canned goods, gallons of water, and even some snack food.

The redneck brothers were the ones who went out hunting for meat. Naomi had multiple interactions with the older Dixon brother, Merle.. He came onto her whenever Rick wasn't around. One time Naomi threatened him with a knife held in her hand, but he only laughed at her. She started ignoring him after that.

The younger Dixon brother was another story. He was about 25, and wasn't a total asshole like his older brother. Daryl never really talked to anyone, but when he did, he was yelling at someone. Mostly he only yelled at Merle. Naomi had only spoken to him once in the six months she'd known him.

By 'spoken to him' Naomi meant, she had yelled his name once to catch his attention before a walker got him from behind. Daryl nodded to her as a thanks and ever since then, he occasionally looked at her with a blank stare.

Naomi couldn't find it in herself to talk to him because she had no idea what to say to him. Also the fact that she found him attractive just made it worse.

So she stayed clear of the Dixon brothers and mainly kept to hanging out with Carl. Not that she really had a choice on the matter, when he wasn't teaching her how to use a gun they had watch duty together, and when they weren't doing that they were doing chores or babysitting Andrea's nephews together.

Carl cleared his throat to get Naomi's attention. "Dad says we're going on a run tomorrow. Him, Shane, Daryl, Merle and me. I could ask for you to go so you can get some practice on moving targets."

Naomi laughed. "What a group! We spend enough time together, Carl. And no offense, but Shane creeps me out.. You should see the way he looks at me when you're not around. Same could go for Dixon."

"Come on, Naomi, everyone knows you'd love for Daryl to look at you the way Merle does. Maybe tomorrow can be your lucky day and he'll be looking at you at the right time and he can save your ass when you miss the walker's brain by a mere inch."

Naomi felt her face get red. "You're a real asshole, you know that?!" She stormed off into the house after that and went straight to her room on the second floor.

_Everyone knows you'd love for Daryl to look at you the way Merle does._

Why would he even think that? It wasn't common knowledge to the group that Naomi had any interest in Daryl. She never said anything to anyone. There are occasions where she finds herself staring at him but only for a couple seconds. If Carl knew because of that then he spends far too much time looking at her.

Naomi scoffed. "Prick." She said outloud.

"Who ya callin' a prick, princess?"

The southern drawl made her roll her eyes. Why the fuck was Merle Dixon in her room?


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you want, Merle?" Naomi asked flatly.

Merle smirked at her. "Now why would ya think I want something from ya, darlin'? I can't stop by to hang out?"

Naomi sighed and laid on her bed. Her muscles were sore from the gun training. "I don't want to _hang out_."

"Has anybody ever told you that yer boring? I'd be boring too if I hung around with officer friendly's kid all day. What do you guys do, sit 'round and talk about yer dead parents?"

Naomi closed her eyes. Merle didn't have a filter or feelings.

A knock on the door caused Naomi to open her eyes and sit up. "Come in."

Rick and Daryl were on the other side of the door. Daryl looked confused and Rick looked angry.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Rick asked looking directly at Merle and then rounded on Naomi. "Naomi, why are you alone with him?!"

"He was in my room when I got here!" She crossed her arms and chanced a look at Daryl. He was looking at Merle still only his confusion turned to annoyance. Naomi felt herself flush. Why was Rick treating her like a child in front of him?

"C'mon Merle, get out." Daryl said to his brother and they both left the room, Merle was mumbling something under his breath.

_Asshole_.

"What's up, Rick?" Naomi said and smiled at the man. She loved him even though he treated her like a kid. Rick had taken her in and cared for her like he cared for Carl. She broke down and he comforted her for two weeks after her father died. Rick was the only family she had.

"Well, I came to see if you want to go on a run tomorrow?" Rick asked, still clearly agitated by Merle.

"I already told Carl I don't want to, we spend too much time together."

"Carl asked you to go?" Rick asked confused and Naomi shook her head. "I think it'd be good for you to see what it's like, get some shooting practice in."

Naomi suppressed a laugh thinking about how much Carl and Rick sound alike.

"Once we hit town we break into pairs, you don't have to team up with Carl."

Naomi was intrigued to go out of the house to do something. She was also scared of all the things that could happen out there, but she would have to be brave. That's the first thing her father said to her at the beginning of the end.

"Sure, Rick."

"Great." Rick patted her on the back. "We leave in the morning. Get some rest."

Rick left her room and she laid back down. She promised herself she wouldn't miss a target tomorrow if they ran into any trouble, she'd show Carl that he was wrong.

Naomi eventually gave in to sleep.

Carl was the first one up and ready to leave. He complained about how long they took getting up when they all sat around the van eating breakfast and gearing up.

"How are you feeling today, Naomi? Ready to take down some walkers?" Shane asked as he threw her a water bottle.

Naomi shrugged. She had killed some walkers when her and her dad were heading to Atlanta. If a horde came, they ran.

Carl looked over at her and then at Daryl. When he turned to look back at her he had an amused expression on his face.

Naomi rolled her eyes. She was happy she wouldn't be with him all day, even if she got paired up with Shane it would be better than being with Carl.

They rolled out and headed towards their destination. Rick said he saw a town that was about two hours away on the map they got from the local gas station.

Shane had parked them on the side of the road at the entrance of the town, it was very small. All the stores were sat right next to each other, and had no signs of vacancy.

"Carl, you're with Shane. Merle, you're with me. Daryl you're with Naomi." Rick said and handed everyone a list.

"Ya gotta be shitting me!" Merle exclaimed with a look of agitation. "I should be with my baby brother, someone's gotta watch his ass."

Daryl scoffed. "I was watching my own ass when you weren't around, makes no difference now."

Naomi was still registering the fact that she'd been paired up with Daryl. She thought Rick would pair her up with Shane or himself, but Daryl?

She hadn't spoken a word since her and Daryl went towards the store they were going to ransack.

Naomi had almost just walked in the store but Daryl grabbed her shoulder to stop her and tapped on the window.

"Give it a minute." He said and started picking at his nails.

After five minutes, when no walkers came up to the window, they decided to go in.

Daryl took the lead and Naomi followed close behind, she had her knife out just incase. Naomi's gun was in the back of her pants.

They were in a clinics office, there had to be some left over medical supplies in there somewhere.

"I'll check the back room, you just sit tight til I give you the ok." Daryl said while loading his crossbow.

Naomi shook her head. What else could she do? She wasn't _that _skilled at killing walkers yet. At least when she killed them with her dad they weren't all secluded to one room, she had some range to run if need be.

Daryl had been gone about 5 minutes and she heard noises come from the back room. Naomi figured Daryl was getting caught up with too many walkers so she ran to help him. She didn't expect to see what she did..

Three men were in the room and one of them were holding Daryl's crossbow, that same man had just knocked Daryl out by hitting him in the face with his own weapon.

Naomi went to run away from them, she needed to find Rick. She couldn't save Daryl by herself. If she pulled out her gun she would be dead in an instant.

One of the men tackled her to the ground and her knife jumped across the floor.

His mouth was next to her ear and all she could smell was alcohol.

"Now where do you think you're going little lady? Ya see, my friends and I have been waiting for an opportunity like this. We're gonna take you and your boyfriend here back to our camp, we're gonna torture the living shit out of him.. and you.." The man laughed and Naomi couldn't hide the fear creeping up inside her.

"You're gonna be wishing you were dead." He said as he stroked her face and put her hair behind her ear.


	3. Chapter 3

Naomi was sweating, pissed off and blindfolded. The circumstances couldn't have been any worse. They had searched her and taken her gun, her knife was forgotton about at the store.

An unconscious Daryl was dragged out the back of the store, they tied him up and threw him in the bed of the truck.

Naomi however, wasn't unconcious and put up a fight. When they brought her outside the first thing she did was try to yell Rick's name as loud as she could. She recieved a punch to the face as soon as she opened her mouth, by the same man who tackeled her to the ground.

Naomi found out his name was George. The other two men were Skylar and Tyler.

She really hated George.

They blindfolded her and stuck her in the front seat of the truck with them.

Naomi couldn't stop thinking about their camp. How many people were there? How far away was it?

"Ya best untie me if ya know whats best for ya! Fucking pieces of shit! I'm gonna kick your teeth in so hard yer mom is gonna feel it!"

Clearly Daryl was conscious again, he moved around in the truck as much as he could and banged his body against it.

"We should have gagged them in the store.. then maybe this ones face wouldn't be battered and bloody." one of the guys said.

Whoever was driving slammed on the breaks and Naomi heard Daryl's body lurch forward and hit the truck. He cursed and spit.

"You're gonna shut up if you know what's good for you, or your girlfriend is going to be beat bloody on account of you, and you'll watch."

Naomi knew George had said that. She could even feel the creepy smile plastered on his face.

Daryl didn't speak anymore after that but she heard him as he fumbled to get out of his binds.

Naomi tried to memorize the turns they took and count how many minutes they were away from where they had been, but whoever was driving swerved too much for her to remember exactly which way they turned and she lost count of the minutes.

They were going to die because of these people. Rick would never find them. Naomi found herself wishing she'd been nicer to Carl, maybe they could have been friends if they weren't both such stubborn assholes.

The truck finally came to a halt and Naomi's blindfold was ripped off. George grabbed her shoulder forcefully and yanked her out of the truck. It took Skyler and Tyler both to get a pissed off Daryl out of the bed of the truck.

Daryl head butted Skyler (it could have been Tyler, Naomi didn't know or care) and have him a bloody nose, it even looked like he had broken it.

"Just knock him the fuck out again!" Tyler said holding Daryl from the back, grasping his tied up arms.

Daryl pushed back with all his might and sent himself and Tyler to the ground. Daryl had managed to get his hands untied and grabbed a knife from the front of his pants, he stabbed behind him and his knife planted itself right in Tyler's hand.

Tyler screamed, his voice full of agony.

Naomi heard the cock of a gun next to her head. "You're going to cooperate or I'll blow her fucking brains out."

Daryl looked at him, his eyes full of anger. The expression on his face seemed like he didn't care if she lived or died. But he cut the shit all the same.

"Get the fuck up, Tyler. And pull that knife out of your hand before I put it in your heart." George took Naomi and pushed her forward.

They were at a run down car garage, it had graffiti on it that read, "There is only one hell, the one we live in now."

When they entered the garage, it was empty. Naomi figured that their group was out on a run or hunting, but Daryl and her sat in silence for hours and nobody came.

When the three men were eating at their table in the middle of the garage, Naomi chanced speaking to Daryl.

"Do you think Rick will come for us?"

Daryl looked at her with annoyance but it quickly changed to a look of understanding.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Rick'll try to find us." Naomi smiled but Daryl continued to speak, "Rick ain't gonna find us though. He wouldn't know where to look, we were in an unknown area."

Naomi's smile vanished and she started crying. She didn't care that she was crying in front of Daryl. She didn't care about anything. In that moment all she wished for was to be with Carl, doing her gun training. She could deal with hearing him bitch one more time about how awful her aim is.

After another hour had passed, George walked over to Daryl and her. "Now that I'm nice and full I think I'm ready for some fun."

Daryl growled in the back of his throat. "You touch her and I swear I'll-" "You'll what? Sit there like a little bitch and watch as I caress her body?" George grabbed Naomi by the hair then, and she sucked in her breath. "As I kiss her soft lips." He went to move closer, his face mere inches from hers. "As I fuck her until she wants me to fuck her harder."

Naomi spit in his face then and Daryl threw himself at the man, sending him toppling to the ground.

George rolled away from Daryl and then stood up and kicked him in the face.

"You're going to learn you stupid fucking redneck." George said as he kicked Daryl in the stomach.

Naomi flinched as she heard the strained cries escape Daryl's lips.

"I'm going to tie you to a chair and make you watch," George kicked him once more and Daryl spit up blood. "And you'll die knowing she's suffering and there's nothing you could have done."

George took a step towards her and then stopped.

"Sleep well," he smiled mischievously. "Tomorrow will be a fun day for us all."

George walked away and Naomi started to cry again. Daryl muttered to her that everything would be alright and not to worry, but Naomi didn't believe him. She leaned against Daryl and cried until she gave into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Carl looked down at the knife in his hand. It was Naomi's knife. _What an idiot_, he thought. Her knife was clean, which means she hadn't tried to defend herself.

Rick's words brought him back to reality, "We know they were taken and which direction they went, but we don't know where they're going, we might not have enough provisions or people."

"From what I saw there were about 3 men in that truck." Shane stated, seeming bored of the situation they were in.

"I ain't waiting for you assholes to decide your do's and don'ts. I'm going to find my baby brother and that little bitch too." Merle said standing up, he was so angry his face was red and strained. To Carl, it looked like he was about to shit himself. He found amusement in this, but tilted his head down so his hat hid his smirk.

"I want to get Daryl and Naomi back too, Merle, but we have to think! We can't just act and run off after them like mad men, that could get us killed and it could get them killed. We need a plan." Rick said standing up now too, getting up in Merle's face.

Carl squeezed the hand that he held Naomi's knife in. He hoped she was okay. Even though she annoyed the hell out of him, he didn't want her dead. He wished they had just stayed at the house and did gun training today instead.

After two hours they had come up with a plan, they got in their van and started driving in the same direction as the truck did. The plan was to scout out the truck, and when found they would cut the gas line and surround their hideout on all sides.

"If they have more men, we're all fucked." Shane stated.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Rick said back.

The sun had been down for hours by the time they found the truck Shane had saw. They drove by the car garage that the truck was parked outside of and parked their van a little ways down the road.

Shane cut the gas line and told Rick he'd cover the back of the garage. Carl turned off the safety on his gun and entered the building with his father and Merle.

Naomi woke up to the sound of Daryl snoring. She sat up to move away from Daryl, but he was still leaning on her. She felt the embarrassment creep up but it quickly subsided when she heard the sound of a door opening.

Daryl heard it too and shot up. George sauntered towards them, a grin spread across his ugly face.

"Tyler and Skylar are sleeping, but I couldn't find sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about you." George said softly as he bent down and stared at Naomi.

"Go fuck yourself." Naomi spat. The anger in her was rising and she'd rather him punch her in the face than him touching her in any sort of sexual way.

"I'd rather fuck you." George said and ripped Naomi's shirt. Her breasts were showing now and she felt her face get hot.

Daryl's breath heightened and it sounded like he was going to explode. She chanced a glance at him and he was staring at George with pure hatred.

_If looks could kill._

George brought his hand up to cup her breast. Naomi felt disgusted and almost threw up then and there.

George pressed his lips against Naomi then and Naomi pushed her head back. George then grabbed a fist full of her hair and pressed her face against his.

"Get the fuck off her!" Daryl's screams could be heard but Naomi felt like passing out.

This was it, she was going to die.

Another door burst open and George was off her. Naomi looked to see what was happening, she hadn't realized she started crying, she couldn't see through the tears.

Someone had walked over to Daryl, she wanted to scream at them to leave him alone. She felt Daryl's presence leave and that's when the tears started to clear up.

What she saw before her made her so happy she could have jumped for joy. Rick and Carl were standing in front of her, Carl had his gun pointed at George. Naomi had never seen Carl look so angry.

"Where are your other men?!" Rick shouted.

George was unarmed, an idiotic mistake on his part.

"They're in the back room, don't worry, Rick. I can handle this sick bastard." Daryl said as he cut off the last of his restraints.

Rick and Merle left the room and left Daryl to it.

"You're going to die a slow, painful death." Daryl said in a low voice.

"I'd like to see that," George said with a smirk plastered on his face. "You just mad that I touched your girlfriend before you could?"

Daryl kicked him in the mouth then. George spit out blood and a couple teeth.

"You did what?" Carl asked, his voice laced with venom. He cocked his gun then and pointed it right for George's head.

"No," Daryl said angrily to Carl. "He's mine to kill."

Daryl started punching George then, hitting him anywhere and everywhere. He punched him until he breathed his last breath. Daryl kept punching even when he had stopped breathing.

Merle, Rick, and Shane had come back in the room and it took all three of them to get Daryl off of George.

Daryl's fists were bruised and bloody, as was the rest of his face. He looked crazed, lost even.

Carl finally managed to stop looking at Daryl and came over to Naomi and started untying her bounds.

"I'm sorry." Carl whispered to her and handed her the knife her father gave to her. "I'm sorry this all happened to you."

Naomi wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, and that she was fine and he didn't touch her in that way, because they had saved them. But before Naomi could say a thing she felt herself slipping into the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Carl paced the floor in his bedroom. Naomi was being looked after by Carol and Andrea. They arrived home a couple hours ago yet Carl still felt the rage building up inside him.

Daryl swore up and down that the bastard didn't touch her in _that _way. Carl wished that Daryl had let him help pulverize him. Carl realized in the car garage when he was untying Naomi and looking at her bruised and bloodied skin that he cared for her. He didn't want anyone or anything to ever harm her again. He'd make sure it didn't ever happen again if he could help it.

Carl laid on his bed and eventually fell asleep. He dreamt of taking Naomi on a date, in a world where there were no corpses walking around.

Daryl took his hand and ran it through his hair. He was so pissed off.

The pain in his head was a reminder that he'd let that fucker hurt Naomi. He'd let him _touch _her. While the pain in his hands reminded him that he didn't let him get away with it.

He didn't know what to think about Naomi, but the protectiveness that filled him when it came to her was unreal. He barley talked to her, much less knew her, but she was different than the other girls he had met.

He watched her when she wasn't paying attention, like he observed everyone around him. She knew how to work a knife, that was sexy to say the least. The way she held herself was interesting, she was strong, even if she didn't know it. Naomi had a moment of weakness in the car garage when she broke down, but that was expected in a situation like that.

Daryl didn't know how to comfort anyone, let alone a girl sobbing on his shoulder. He couldn't even pat her shoulder, being tied up and all. But he let her cry.

He couldn't stand being in his room anymore, he stormed out of it and headed towards Carol's room, he knew Naomi was there, he wanted to see her for himself and make sure she was okay.

When he walked in, Carol was cleaning off Naomi's face and putting ointment on her bruises.

Daryl cleared his throat and walked towards her, she looked up at him with sad eyes and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Daryl felt the rage build up again and he scoffed. "Don't thank me for shit. I did what needed to be done. Anyone would have done the same."

Naomi's smile quickly changed to a frown. Daryl cursed at himself in his head for being such an asshole.

"Daryl, you should let me clean you up-" Carol started.

"No, I'm fine." Daryl looked away from Naomi and started walking out of the room. "You just make sure she's okay."

Naomi closed her eyes. She was finally laying in her room, away from everybody. She was sick of them all asking if she was okay. Of course she wasn't okay. Daryl confused her, she didn't know if he cared or if he was just trying to make her feel better.

She knew he cared though. He literally beat the living shit out of George for what he did to her.

Naomi pressed her fingers to her temples. She could figure out Daryl Dixon tomorrow, but for now she slept.

Naomi dreamed of her past. When she had lived with both her parents and the world was running smoothly. They had taken her out for a weekend to the Grand Canyon. Her father had put her on his shoulders and they took a picture, laughing. Her mother was yelling at them to smile, but eventually she had started laughing along with them and they never got a proper picture.

Naomi woke with a start when she heard a knock at her door, for a moment she was scared and didn't know where she was but then she calmed down, remembering she was fine and safe.

Another knock brought her attention back to reality. "Come in." Naomi said, her voice raspy from just waking up.

The door opened and the man standing behind the door made her scream. She screamed so loud she gave herself a headache.

George was walking towards her, his gait slow.

Naomi tried screaming again but no noise escaped her lips. She tried to move but her muscles weren't cooperating with her brain.

George reached her bed then, he went to grab her, Naomi wanted to shout for someone to help but she still couldn't speak.

"Naomi!" George said grabbing her arm, but Daryl's voice came out. "Naomi, wake up!"

Naomi closed her eyes and opened them again, she was sitting up in her bed, Daryl's hand gently holding her arm. Rick and Carl stood at the doorway, weapons in hand.

"I'm s-sorry," Naomi stuttered, she felt the tears rolling down her face. Would she ever stop crying?

"Don't be sorry." Rick said gently and walked over to her. "We'll get through this together okay?"

"Okay." Naomi agreed.

But she didn't think anything would ever be okay again.

"I'll stay in here with you if you want me to."

Naomi would have never thought Carl would have ever said that to her if she hadn't watched him speak the words.

"No, I'm fine. It was only a bad dream, I'll just go back to sleep."

Carl muttered something incoherent under his breath and walked out of her room.

Rick bid her good night and told her if she needed anything to wake him up.

That left Daryl and her alone. Daryl had released her arm once she was conscious of her surroundings.

"Do you need anything?" Daryl asked with a gentle tone.

His voice was so soothing to her she forgot she hadn't responded for a moment.

"No. I don't need anything." She replied.

Daryl went to leave the room and Naomi felt her heart sink. But he closed her door and sat in the corner of her room in the recliner.

"You're not gonna push me away like you did the kid, get some sleep. I'll be here if you need me."

Naomi's heart fluttered. "You need to sleep too."

Daryl snorted. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

Naomi smiled at that. She turned her body away from his and closed her eyes. It took her hours to fall asleep, but when sleep finally hit her, she was thankful that she didn't dream.


	6. Chapter 6

Naomi woke up feeling rejuvenated, since Daryl had been sleeping in her room every night for the past five days, she actually got to sleep.

She only had two nightmares since the last one. Daryl woke her up each time and told her she'd be okay and that he was there.

Naomi turned her body sideways and looked at Daryl. He was laying in the recliner, with it stretched all the way back. His right hand, which was in a cast, rested on his crossbow and his left hand was leaning against the side of his face.

He looked exhausted but handsome at the same time. Even with the bruises on his face. When Daryl noticed she was awake he sat up. Naomi did the same. Her blankets fell down around her, showing her torso. The tank top she wore was low cut, showing off her breasts.

"Morning." Naomi tried to say in a seductive voice, but it came out all wrong.

Daryl grunted in return, standing up to leave. Naomi mentally slapped herself.

"I'm gonna try to get a little bit of sleep. See you tonight." And with that he exited her room.

Naomi stood up and started to get ready, now that she felt better and the bruising in her face was down, Carl and her would resume gun training.

And she would try to get her mind off Daryl.

Carl stood at the end of the hall, waiting for Naomi to wake up. They had gun training today, and he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

When Daryl left her room he rolled his eyes. Of course she let _him _stay with her. When he had suggested, she shot him down. In front of his dad and Daryl nonetheless. He doubted his father would have even approved of him sharing the same room as her.

Naomi finally exited her room, her face was still bruised. But she definitely looked better than she had. Daryl was the one who had it bad, he had a black eye and a broken hand, he also had a nasty bruise on his cheek. Yet Naomi still looked at him like he was made by Greek gods.

Carl shook his head, he had to stop thinking about her before she drove him crazy.

Once they were in the field where they normally did gun training, Naomi decided to talk to him.

"You think we'll ever leave this place?"

What a random question. It was also a stupid question.

"Why would we ever want to leave? It's the best place we have." Carl said, staring at her now.

She was shorter than him by a few inches, with red hair that went a little bit past her shoulders. Her green eyes changed depending on her mood, which was pretty cool, but Carl would never tell her that.

"Well," Naomi said, making eye contact with him. "What if people try to take this place, or a herd comes through?"

Carl shook his head at her and moved closer to her. "And what happens if we leave and run into the same problem? My dad has a system. That's why we all go on watch, so if something comes we're ready for it and we can fight or run."

Carl smiled at her then, but he hid it quickly and walked a couple feet away from her, his back facing towards her.

"Start aiming." Carl grumbled.

"Aye aye officer." Naomi said.

Carl felt the smirk on her face and he felt his face get hot.

_Smartass._

Daryl finally woke up as the sun was going down. Before he went to sleep, he had gone to talk to Rick about starting to help out again. Rick argued but Daryl convinced him he was fine.

Rick finally gave in and told him he could do watch duty, and to bring Naomi with him.

He'd stayed in her room every night since they'd come back. Waking her from her bad dreams if he had to.

This morning her blankets fell down around her, exposing her chest, but Daryl made sure not to look. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, and also not wanting to make himself feel uncomfortable.

Daryl got out of bed and went to go get Naomi from her gun training, so they could go to abandoned bus they use to keep watch, which sat at the end of the driveway.

Naomi's arms ached like a bitch. She hit a couple of her targets today, which was shocking to say the least, to her and Carl.

She'd missed her last three targets, and Carl groaned.

"You can never just relax your shoulders." Carl said as he walked over to her, he came up from behind her and put his arms on hers, holding them to position her properly. She jumped at the contact but recovered when he started to speak softly in her ear.

"Aim."

She aimed her gun at the fake dummy they had nailed to the tree.

"Where do you want to hit them?" Carl asked, his voice low and his breath hot in her ear.

Naomi felt her breath quicken and her exposed skin that was touching Carl's started to grow goosebumps.

"The brain." She breathed.

_What the fuck was happening?_

"Shoot." Carl barley whispered.

Naomi shot and hit the dummy right in the forehead.

She lowered her arms and turned her face to look at Carl's, before Naomi could say anything, Carl's lips were on hers.

She sat there for a moment, letting him kiss her but the she backed away quickly, too quickly. The thoughts of George came swimming back into her mind and she felt sick.

"Naomi?" Carl said looking hurt.

Naomi shook her head and started running away from Carl.

On her way back to the house she ran into Daryl, literally.

She sent both of them to the ground. Naomi falling on top of Daryl.

"Fuck." Daryl groaned in pain.

Naomi quickly got off him. "Sorry." She squeaked.

Today was not her day.

" 'S alright." Daryl mumbled getting back up. "What're running from a walker?"

"No.. Just running and not paying attention." Naomi said looking away.

"Whatever." He whispered. He cleared his throat and she looked back over at him.

"You and I got watch duty tonight, go eat something and then meet me at the bus." Daryl walked away from her after that and she stood there feeling confused, frustrated, and upset.


	7. Chapter 7

Naomi had just got done eating as Carl walked into the kitchen. He ignored her existence completely. She didn't blame him, she was the one who didn't know what she wanted.

She didn't even know if she liked Carl in that way, he started being nice to her once they all got back from their run. He was probably being nice to her out of pity. Why would Carl kiss her?

Naomi pushed thoughts of Carl aside once she was getting closer to the watch bus Daryl was in.

Daryl was sitting on top of the bus, his crossbow sitting on his lap. He spoke before she could, "How was gun training?"

Naomi rolled her eyes, but Daryl didn't see.

"It was fine."

Daryl snorted in return. "You getting better at least?"

"Slowly but surely." Naomi answered climbing on top of the bus and sitting next to him.

Daryl looked at her and they held each others gaze for a moment, until Daryl looked away.

Naomi thought about Daryl and then her thoughts brought her back to Carl and she closed her eyes. She'd have to make things right with Carl, she shouldn't have just ran away like that. She should have told him why she acted the way she did. Naomi would wake him up after watch duty if she had to, before the guilt consumed her.

"What're you thinking about?"

Daryl's voice took her away from her thoughts and she opened her eyes and saw icy blue eyes staring back.

"I can't stop thinking about _him. _George, I mean. I have these awful dreams and what if it doesn't change? What if he's always there? In the back of my mind?"

Daryl sat there for a moment, thinking. "He's dead and he's still causing you problems.. It ain't fair. He ain't gonna harm you no more. It'll change. Just don't let his ghost haunt ya."

Naomi pondered that for a moment and let out a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Okay. Okay, I'll try."

They sat in silence for the next few hours, only speaking to let each other know when they were taking a bathroom break.

Towards the end of their watch, they were getting ready to leave and Naomi was climbing down off the bus until Daryl threw her to the ground.

"Ow! Daryl, what the fuck!" Naomi exclaimed clutching her now bruised knee.

Daryl jumped down and covered her mouth with his hand and pointed behind him, when Naomi looked around the bus she saw a herd of about 70 walkers coming towards them.

_Shit._

Carl was laying in bed, as he had been for hours. He couldn't find sleep, because he couldn't stop thinking about Naomi. Why would he kiss her after everything that had just happened to her?

_Stupid._

He bet she didn't even like him, and why would she? He gave her no reason to like her. Hell, he'd been an asshole to her for the longest time. He thought she felt something, because of the way she was acting when he positioned her correctly when she was aiming at her target. But he mistook nervousness for uneasiness, and he kicked himself in the ass for that.

Carl got up, figuring he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon and grabbed his gun and creeped out of the room, so he didn't wake his dad.

He was going to go talk it out with Naomi, and apologize. Carl didn't want things to be weird between them, he'd rather her go back to being stubborn and disliking him than her disliking him and not talking to him at all.

Carl exited the house and started towards the end of the driveway, what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks. A herd of walkers were coming towards the house, and he only had a fucking six shooter on him.

Carl cursed and went to turn around to wake his dad, and then he thought about Naomi, being down at the bus with walkers surrounding her.

_Shit._


	8. Chapter 8

Carl was running. He could see the herd sauntering towards the house, but his main priority was Naomi. He told himself he wouldn't let anything hurt her if he could help it. Carl knew she was probably safe with Daryl, but how much of a help could he be with a broken hand.

Carl didn't think he'd ever run so fast in his life, he could see the bus in the distance but he couldn't see Daryl or Naomi. He wanted to scream for her, but he'd be dead in an instant if he did that. Carl stopped running and looked behind him. He needed to tell his dad and everyone what was happening.

_Daryl will keep her safe._ Carl told himself.

Carl turned on his heels and ran back to the house.

"Don't make a sound." Daryl breathed.

They were lying underneath the bus. Naomi was freaking out, if they made one loud sound they would be mauled.

"What about everyone else?" Naomi whispered as quietly as she could.

"Rick will figure it out, now shut up if ya wanna live." Daryl snapped back in a whisper.

Naomi thought of Carl and hoped he would be okay.

They sat there for what seemed like hours, waiting for the herd to pass. Naomi jumped when she heard gun shots, the walkers started moving faster then. Had she guessed wrong? Maybe there was more than 70, maybe there were 100.

Naomi cursed at herself in her head. They should be out there helping, not hiding under a bus. The point of being on watch was to be able to let everyone know when something or someone was coming and putting them in danger.

When Daryl and her had finally climbed out from underneath the bus, they saw bodies all over the yard, and they saw the herd going down the road. The herd was smaller, but they were leaving.

Naomi and Daryl started walking towards the house, they got to the porch and saw one of Andrea's twin nephews dead, his stomach ripped open.

Naomi covered her mouth and felt her eyes start to sting. She ran into the house, desperate to see a face, desperate to see Carl.

She ran through the whole house and found no one. They left. They left without them. Naomi ran to her room and laid on her bed.

How could they do that? How could they leave them there?

Daryl walked in her room and took his seat in the recliner. He put his crossbow on the ground and started to bite his nails.

Naomi enjoyed the silence for a couple minutes and then looked at Daryl.

"I bet that's where that herd was going, following everyone who left." Daryl said, his voice calm.

"They left us here!" Naomi shouted. She didn't care how loud she was being. "They all left!"

"They'll come back." Daryl said raising his own voice.

"Not if they think we're dead." Naomi said and turned away from Daryl.

Carl sat in the front seat of the van, his dad was driving. Andrea and Ben were sitting in the back seat crying, because a walker got Billy. Shane, Carol, Glenn and Merle were following behind us in Daryl's truck.

"Naomi could still be alive." Carl said to Rick.

Rick payed him no mind and kept driving.

"Did you hear me? Naomi could still be alive! And we're leaving her behind!" Carl was yelling at his father now, his hands balled into fists.

Rick sighed. "Carl, from what we saw I don't think they made it. You said you didn't see them. There was probably more than 100 walkers-"

"That doesn't mean they didn't survive! You promised her dad you'd look after her! You promised to protect her!"

Rick had nothing to say to after that. Carl looked out the window and felt like being sick.

"If you don't want to go back, Merle will want to. He'll want to make sure his brother isn't a walker."

"Tomorrow, Carl. We can go back tomorrow. We need to find somewhere to stay tonight, and get everyone settled. Andrea and Ben need the rest." Rick said, slowing the car down so Shane could catch up.

Carl didn't want to wait until tomorrow. He'd ask Merle to steal the van tonight and they would go and bring Naomi and Daryl back.

Dead or alive, Carl needed to know what happened to Naomi.


	9. Chapter 9

They decided to stay at a run down motel, the building looked like it had been on fire at a point but it was the best thing they could ask for. Andrea and Ben were being comforted by everyone, except for Shane and Merle. Carl took this opportunity to ask Merle to leave with him.

"Merle." Carl said as he stood next to him, fixing his hat on his head so it wasn't in his face.

"Kid." Merle answered, barley acknowledging him.

Carl rolled his eyes. How was he supposed to get Merle to leave with him? Merle didn't care for Carl, and to be honest, Carl didn't give a damn about him either.

"We need to go back." Carl said suddenly. "We have to see if Daryl and Naomi are still there, we can't just leave them there."

Merle breathed a laugh. "You don't give two shits about my brother and I don't give two shits about that little bitch."

"She's not a bitch." Carl said getting angry. He sucked in a breath, he'd get no where with Merle if he pissed him off. "Well, she can be a bitch.. but that's no reason to leave her for dead."

"What do ya got in mind, kid? What, we just take the van and drive back there like fucking heroes?" Merle asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"That's exactly what I have in mind." Carl answered, staring Merle down.

Merle looked at him like he was an idiot, for a moment. "Lets go."

Carl wasn't sure if he'd heard him right, "W-what?"

"Don't just fucking stand there, kid. Go get the keys from your daddy, I'll be out at the van." Merle walked away then, leaving Carl standing there dumbfounded.

That was easier than he expected.

Naomi was laying in her bed, she couldn't fall asleep. She was too angry to sleep. Why did everyone always leave her behind? Her mother had, her father did when he died, and now the people she considered her family left her. Especially Rick, how could he? Carl wouldn't be taking it lightly, he'd make them come back for her and Daryl. _She hoped_.

Daryl didn't leave her. He was the only one who stayed with her. Did he care for her? He had to. Naomi turned her body to look at Daryl then, he looked exhausted and uncomfortable.

"Why don't you sleep? I'm not going to fall asleep, but you look like you need it." Naomi suggested, sitting up in her bed.

Daryl nodded in response and put his crossbow on the ground. He started to stretch out in the recliner.

"Why don't you lay in this bed? I mean, it's probably more comfortable." Naomi said it before she realized what she was saying.

Daryl stared at her for a moment, a confused expression plastered on his face.

Naomi almost said she was sorry and that she didn't mean it, but Daryl stood up and laid in bed. He was as far away from her as he could get, but he was in her bed. She started to feel her face get hot and thought about moving to the recliner, but she didn't want him to think she didn't want to be near him.

Naomi listened to his breathing and realized her breathing was in sync with his. This made Naomi smirk.

"What're you smiling about?" Daryl asked her, his voice rough.

"Nothing." she said, too quickly.

"You're not easy to read, ya know." Daryl said closing his eyes.

"Neither are you." Naomi challenged.

Daryl smirked at that.

"What took ya so damn long, kid? I could have walked there and back already." Merle said, annoyed.

Carl scoffed. "I had to wait for my dad to take the keys out of his pocket and Shane wouldn't take his eyes off me. I think he's suspicious, lets leave." He threw the keys at Merle.

"Lets." Merle said hopping in the drivers seat.

Once they were on the road, Carl relaxed. He'd be seeing Naomi soon, and she would be just fine. They drove by the herd, Merle had hit a couple of them with the van, laughing as he did so.

"Shit!" Merle exclaimed, a huge smile spread across his face.

"What?" Carl asked, startled by the sudden outburst.

"Ya like this little bitch don't ya?" Merle asked, teasingly.

Carl felt his face turn red, he went to make an excuse as to why he cared about her safety so much but couldn't think of a retort in time.

"I bet my baby brother is fucking her right now, sorry to break it to ya kid, that's the Dixon charm." Merle said, laughing like a child.

Carl didn't listen to him. Naomi wouldn't do that after everything she had just been through. He hoped she wouldn't do that at all.

"Here we are, home sweet home." Merle said. They could see the house now, there were a few lone walkers surrounding the house. It was nothing Carl and Merle couldn't handle.

Naomi was trying so hard not to fall asleep, she could feel the heat radiating off of Daryl, and it made her feel so relaxed. She wanted to move her body closer to his, but didn't want him to wake up and be freaked out.

The sound of a door opening made Naomi jump. Someone was in the house. Her thoughts jumped to walkers, but they couldn't open doors.. She hoped it was the others coming back for them, but it could be anyone.

"Daryl, wake up." Naomi whispered, touching his arm.

Daryl's eyes opened quickly, and he grasped Naomi's hand.

"Oh." Daryl said quietly, once he realized it was Naomi.

They sat there for a moment, just looking at each other. Naomi heard her door open and she jumped, hoping it was a friendly face behind the door.

"Well, well, look what we got here. See, kid, I told you they were fucking." Merle said kicking the door open all the way.

Naomi and Carl locked eyes, she'd never been so happy to see him. Carl nodded his head at her and then went to walk downstairs. "I'll be in the van." he called out to no one in particular.

Naomi wondered why he had acted like that, until she looked down, Daryl was still holding her hand and they were laying in the same bed.

Daryl looked to see that Naomi was looking at their hands, and he quickly released hers and stood up.

"It's 'bout damn time." Daryl said, looking at Merle.

"Doesn't look like ya were in a hurry, baby brother." Merle said humorously.

"Shut up." Daryl answered, grabbing his crossbow.

Naomi got up and grabbed her things and ran down the stairs to catch up with Carl.

"Carl, wait! I need to talk to you!" Naomi said as she saw him going to get in the van.

"There's nothing to talk about!" Carl shouted at her, he looked so hurt. "You want him? Fine. You shouldn't have ran off after I kissed you, you should have just told me how you felt!"

Naomi went to speak, to tell him she was sorry and she was wrong for doing that, but he interrupted her.

"But, no! You ran off and left me thinking that I hurt you! I felt bad because of what I did, because of what you went through! I thought you were dead! But you're here, laying in bed with Daryl. Sorry for interrupting." Carl said to her and got in the front seat of the van, slamming the door in the process.

Naomi stood there, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe how wrong he was, but how would she explain everything that just happened?

A shout from behind her brought her back to reality.

Naomi watched as Daryl shot the walker down, but it was too late. The walker had already bit him.

Merle sat there screaming in agony, yelling at them to cut off his hand. Naomi took out her knife and handed it to Daryl. If they could save him from being turned into a walker, their best bet was to cut off his hand.

Daryl told Naomi to wait in the van as he dragged Merle into the house. She obliged, walking towards the van. Everything felt like a dream in that moment.


	10. Chapter 10

Carl couldn't stop thinking about what he had said to Naomi. He had fucked up _majorly. _How would he ever fix what he had done now? Oh, and on top of everything, Merle had gotten bit by a walker. But Daryl managed to chop his hand off before the virus could spread. How would he explain that to his dad? He was the reason this happened to Merle. He was also the reason Daryl and Naomi had gotten back safely. Carl was sitting up front with Daryl and Merle was whining in the back seat with Naomi.

"This hurts like hell!" Merle exclaimed, pounding his door with his only hand.

"Better than you being dead." Daryl shot back.

They were getting closer to camp, and Carl was happy for it.

"Would ya be the one to kill me, baby brother? I don't think you'd have the balls to do it."

Daryl gripped the steering wheel harder, and kept his mouth shut.

"I'd do it." Naomi said outloud, saying her first words since getting in the car.

"What'd you say, you little bitch? You think just cuz yer fucking my brother that means you can speak to me however ya please?" Carl could feel Merle's gaze on the back of his head. "Told ya they were fucking, kid."

Daryl went to say something but Carl spoke up first, "Pull in right here at this motel." Carl said quickly to Daryl.

Once they stopped, Carl was the first one out of the car. He didn't want to face his father, or Shane. He didn't want to see Daryl or Naomi's faces. He didn't want to hear Merle's voice.

This whole rescue mission turned out to be total shit.

Carl didn't realize he'd stopped outside the door until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Daryl looking at him with curiosity.

"Thanks for coming back, I told her someone would come back for us.. I'll talk to your old man and try to make him less pissed off than he probably already is."

Carl nodded his head and walked away from Daryl and into the motel. He was about to hear it.

Naomi's cheeks burned. The fact that Merle had suggested her and Daryl were intimate was embarrassing to say the least.. But to say it in front of Carl...

"You gonna help me out of the car or what?" Merle moaned as she was climbing out.

Naomi rolled her eyes. "I think you can do just fine on your own."

"I shoulda told that kid to fuck off when he asked to go back for you, I only went back for my brother, was gonna go either way to get him.. We shoulda just left you to the biters. The kid woulda got over you, hell, he probably already is over you." Merle spat at Naomi.

She went to say something back to him but was startled when Daryl came over and pushed her out of the way.

He helped Merle get out of the van and grabbed his crossbow from the back.

"Thanks, little brother. At least one of ya know how to help the crippled." Merle sneered, glaring at Naomi.

Merle walked away to go inside but Daryl stayed behind, his back facing her.

"I know he's an asshole, but he's still my brother." Daryl said, his voice low and threatening.

"You can't act like his little bitch forever, Daryl."

The words came out before she could stop them, and she immediately regretted saying it.

Daryl whipped around and got up in her face.

"What did you just say to me?! Huh? You're a real piece of work lady! I could have left you for dead! Coulda tracked them all myself and just left you there!"

Naomi stood unmoving, nervous to say or do anything. Afraid of what Daryl might do.. He wouldn't hurt her.. He wouldn't physically hurt her.

"Now how bout you go thank your boyfriend for all the shit he just went through to get your ass back home!" Daryl yelled at her once more and stalked off after his brother.

Today was not her day.

Carl sat in the room his dad and him were sharing. Rick was with Daryl, doing perimeter checks.

He was scolded for doing what he did, but in the end Rick said he was glad he did it, but he shouldn't have gone alone with Merle. Carl hadn't seen Naomi since the car ride back. He was happy for it.

Rick finally came in as Carl was almost asleep.

"I went and saw Naomi, I got her settled in. She seemed upset but claimed she was just tired.. She reminds me of you at times."

Carl released a breath he'd been holding.

"She had a long day."

Rick sighed and sat on his bed.

"Tomorrow were going to scout the area, look for food and supplies, maybe even another place to hold up.. A better place."

Carl closed his eyes and thought back to a time where his mom and dad and him would sit and eat awful pancakes every Sunday morning. He wished his mom was still here but was happy she wouldn't have to see everything that had happened.. Everyone that they lost.

Carl drifted off to sleep and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.


	11. Chapter 11

_Your aim is all wrong. _Naomi thought to herself as she aimed her gun at the buck her and Shane had tracked for miles.

Shane knew how to track, she on the other hand.. Did not. A couple miles back, Naomi had tripped over a tree stump sticking out of the ground because she was too busy getting ready to shoot the damn deer, and it ran off. Shane cursed her for it.

Naomi looked down and watched her step, holding her aim.

When she was looking down while walking she didn't realize the tree branch sticking out in front of her, she squealed when she walked into it, thinking it was a walker and soon realized it wasn't.

The deer had once again run off.

"C'MON GIRL." Shane's voice boomed throughout the woods.

"I'm sorry." Naomi muttered.

Shane started towards the direction the deer ran away in and cursed under his breath.

They'd been at it for hours. Naomi just wanted to go back to the motel and lay in her bed like she had been all week.

A week is how long she's sat in her room and talked to no one. She hadn't even seen Daryl since he freaked out on her. She wanted to see Carl, she wanted to talk to him but she couldn't work up the courage. Whenever her and Carl made eye contact he would look away and pretend she wasn't even there.

Carol had noticed Naomi's dismissal of the group and asked her what was wrong, but Naomi just claimed to want privacy.

She barley slept, Daryl hadn't come to stay with her at night and she was still having dreams of george, sometimes he would be a walker chasing after her. But she guessed she hadn't yelled in her sleep because no one came to check on her, Naomi would just wake up sweaty and scared. She slept with her knife under her pillow at all times.

Naomi picked up her pace and caught up with Shane.

"We're in Carl and Rick's zone now." Shane grumbled to Naomi while pointing at the tree with the torn red cloth hanging from it.

Carl took his knife and drove it through the walkers head. It tripped while skulking towards him.

He was getting better at using a knife. Shane had been teaching him how all week.

"You're getting better at that." Rick stated, as Carl pulled his knife from the walkers head.

"Yeah. Shane taught me." Carl replied. They were coming up towards a swamp, when they got closer they realized there were about a dozen walkers stuck in the swamp.

Carl made a move to start taking them down but Rick held his hand up.

"They're not going anywhere." Rick kept walking by and Carl followed suit.

They walked until they reached a clearing, the trees spiraled around them, blocking the hot sun. It was a beautiful sight to see.

The rustling near by made Carl and Rick ready their guns.

While Carl suspected a walker, or another person, a deer was right in front of them. A deer!

Carl handed his gun to his dad and walked towards the deer. He had never been so close to one.

He looked back at his dad and smiled. Rick smiled back and nodded his head, encouraging him to keep going.

Carl turned back towards the deer and outstretched his hand, he was so close. So close, he was nervous the deer would run away at any second.

The gun shot echoed around them. One lone shot. Shane readied his weapon and looked at Naomi.

"Stay close. Lets move."

"Why one shot?" Naomi questioned. They were in Carl and Rick's section now, surely neither of them were stupid enough to shoot down one walker.

That's when Naomi heard yelling, Shane heard it too because he started to move quicker then.

That's when Naomi realized it was Rick's strangled cries, Rick was the one yelling.

"RICK!" Shane screamed, moving faster than ever.

Naomi started running, staying right behind Shane.

"RICK! ANSWER ME GOD DAMMIT!" Shane yelled once more.

When they got to the clearing they saw the buck they had been chasing for miles, only it was shot down. Laying on the ground next to a heavy built man who looked confused and distraught.

Naomi looked down and saw Rick cradling something in his arms.. Someone is his arms.. It was Carl.

He was bleeding profusely and lay there unconscious.

Shane dropped down to his knees in front of them and released a strangled cry of his own.

Naomi was at a loss for words, she could hear was the mumblings of the heavy built man. Had that man shot Carl?

Shane stood back up and pointed his gun at the mumbling man.

"Start talking dammit, or I swear to god I will shoot you right in the head, right here, right now."

"I-I- I didn't mean to shoot him! I saw the deer about a mile back and tracked it to this here clearing! I didn't see the boy, I swear! I live at a farm, we can fix this! We can take the boy there, there's a man there named Hershel, he can help your boy!"

Shane turned to Rick and knelt down next to him while whispering words of comfort.

"There's still time to save him, Rick. We gotta move now."

Shane pointed his gun at the man again and told him to start leading the way. The man obliged and started running out of the clearing.

"C'MON RICK, WE GOTTA MOVE!" Shane shouted, his voice full of authority.

Rick got up, holding Carl in his arms. Rick looked like he was in a daze but ran after the heavy built man all the same.

Naomi didn't remember running after them but she did. They ran until they reached a big white farm house, completely secluded. The place looked like it was picked from a dream.

Daryl plucked his arrow from the tree, he only missed the squirrel because of Merle.

Merle fucked everything up, always had, always will.

"Why can't you just shut the hell up?!" Daryl spat at him.

Merle laughed at him. "Why don't ya make me, Darlina?"

That's when they heard the gun shot, it sounded a ways away.

"What do you suppose that was?" Daryl mumbled, completely forgetting his argument with Merle just seconds ago.

"Who knows, maybe one of those lucky bastards got that deer we saw earlier." Merle said, sounding bored.

"Ah, would you look at that. We're in your girlfriends zone." Merle said pointing to the blue cloth that hung from the tree. "I bet she's sleeping with that crazy officer Shane now that she can't have you, little brother. What a slut."

Daryl dropped his crossbow on the ground and turned to punch Merle in the face, but Merle stopped him easily and pushed him to the ground. Even with one hand now, Merle could still stop him.

"Ya gonna fight me over some dumb bitch who don't know what she wants?" Merle asked him with a smirk creeping on his face.

"Ya best shut the hell up!" Daryl said getting up quickly.

"Or what?!" Merle said, basically laughing in his face.

Daryl gave up with him and picked his crossbow back up.

He didn't care who Naomi was fucking, but Merle didn't have to talk about her like she was just some whore.

It was very clear to Daryl how Carl and Naomi felt about each other. So Daryl decided to just stay out of her way. He hadn't seen her all week.

He had thought about her, more than once. One of those times had been before bed, he couldn't help it, he thought about how close she had been to him in bed before Carl and Merle showed up. The way her chest had risen and fell while she breathed, their breathing was in sync. How her lips parted slightly and her eyes fluttering behind her eyelids while she pretended to be asleep even though Daryl thought she was thinking about how close they were as well.

He had got off to that, and then felt guilty for doing it after he finished. It was wrong of him to think of Naomi in that way, and he told himself he wouldn't do it again.

He found himself thinking of her then, hoping she was alright. Daryl wished he could just stop thinking about her altogether.


	12. Chapter 12

Naomi was running as fast as Rick was, while Shane was left behind running with the man who had shot Carl.

"Dad!" a younger woman from the porch had yelled into the house as they were getting closer. The woman looked to be about Naomi's age. An older man, who Naomi assumed was the girl's father, had come running outside with two other people following close behind.

"Was he bit?" the man asked, keeping his distance.

"Shot." Rick choked out. "By your man."

"Otis?" a blonde haired woman asked from the porch.

"He said to find Hershel, is that you? Help me, help my boy!" Rick begged.

"Bring him inside!" Hershel said, retreating back to his house.

Rick followed quickly, with Naomi right on his tail.

"Patricia, I need my full kit." Hershel shouted as he lead the way. "Maggie, Pain killers, clean towels, sheets, alcohol."

"On it." the brunette answered.

"Is-Is he alive?" Rick asked, while lowering Carl gently onto the bed that Hershel had set up for him.

"Pillow sheet." Hershel demanded.

"Is he alive?" Rick asked again with a look of agony spread across his face.

"Fold it, put pressure on the wound." Hershel demanded again while taking out a pair of stethoscopes from his drawer next to the bed.

Rick obliged and did as Hershel said. Naomi stood in the doorway of the room they were in, unsure of what to do with herself.

"I've got a heartbeat, it's faint." Hershel stated.

Naomi released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and Rick looked like he could pass out at any moment.

"Maggie, IV." Hershel said as he prepared Carl.

"We need some space." Maggie said, giving her father the IV.

"Name?" Hershel asked, staring at Rick.

"R-Rick.. Rick. I'm Rick."

"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room." Hershel said in a calm and caring tone.

Naomi turned and went to walk outside, she needed fresh air. Everything was happening so fast, she felt like she herself could pass out at any moment.

When Naomi walked out onto the porch she saw Shane and Otis walking towards her.

Rick had just followed her out on the porch, he had Carl's blood all over him.

"He's alive? He's still alive?" Otis asked looking back and forth between Naomi and Rick.

Shane pushed past Otis and went into his back pocket and took out the cloth they had been using to pin on the trees, "It's okay.." Shane whispered while cradling Rick's face with his hand. "It's okay, ya got blood." Shane wiped away at the blood that was all over Rick's face.

When he was done he gave the cloth to Rick to clean his hands with.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it from you. Where is he?" Shane asked in a gentle tone.

Naomi had never seen Shane act this way, it was a nice thing to see. She didn't know he could be so loving or caring.

Rick walked back into the house, and they all followed.

Once they entered the room, Rick looked like he was going to breakdown more than he already was.

"You know his blood type?" Hershel asked, still checking Carl's pulse and setting up his table with surgical supplies.

"A positive." Rick stated solemnly.

"What happened?" Patricia asked, walking over to Otis and grabbing ahold of his hand.

"I was tracking a buck.. bullet went through it." Otis answered miserably.

"Slowed the bullet down.. It certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke into pieces.." Hershel stated, looking at Carl's wound. "I'm counting six."

"Lori doesn't know.. My wife doesn't know. My wife doesn't know." Rick sobbed.

Shane and Naomi exchanged a look of awkwardness.

Lori had been gone for months now, Naomi was there when it happened.

Rick had taken the group out for a run, it was just after they had left Atlanta. Shane and Carl were catching frogs while all the girls were doing laundry.

A few walkers had got into camp. They got Amy, Andrea's sister. Dale, a nice old man who had the rv they used to get around in. Sophia and Ed, Carol's daughter and husband. And they got Lori.

Lori was pregnant, that was the worst part. Naomi had tried to save her, really she did. She just wasn't quick enough.

"Rick, he needs blood." Maggie shouted, bringing them all back to reality.

Hershel was digging into Carl's wound, trying to get the bullet fragments.

"Hold him down!" Hershel said to Shane.

"Dad!" Carl choked out, he was sobbing in agony.

Naomi felt like she was going to throw up.

"STOP YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Rick screamed at Hershel.

"He needs blood!" Hershel shouted back.

"DO IT NOW!" Shane yelled at Rick while holding Carl.

Rick held his arm out to Maggie, insanity flashing in his eyes.

Carl stopped yelling and went still, his eyes closed once more.

"Wait, wait, wait." Shane whispered, still holding Carl.

"He just passed out." Hershel said after checking his pulse. "One down.. Five to go." Hershel pulled out one bullet fragment.

They all retreated out of the room Carl lay in and sat in Hershel's living room.

Naomi sat in a recliner and put her head in her hands.

"Lori has to be here Shane, she has to know." Rick was sobbing again.

"Lori is gone man." Shane said sounding equally as upset.

Naomi felt bad just listening to it.

"You gotta handle your end." Shane said all of a sudden.

"My end?" Rick questioned

"Your end is being here for your son, even if he didn't need your blood to survive, there's no way I'd ever let you walk out that door man I, I'd break your legs if you tried, I mean you know that right? If something happened to him and you weren't here.. If he slipped away while you were gone you would never forgive yourself for that."

Shane was playing along with Rick, leading him to believe that Lori was out there somewhere. Naomi didn't know if it was brilliant or cruel.

"That's what you gotta have now, strength for Carl, he needs that from you man. You got the hard part, you just leave the rest to me okay?" Shane said while bringing his head close to Rick's.

"He's out of danger for the moment. But I need to remove those remaining fragments." Hershel said, coming into the room they were all sitting in.

Everyone stood at once.

"How? You saw how he was." Shane answered for Rick.

"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others." Hershel said and then looked at Rick, "There's more, his belly's distended, his pressures dropping which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there, I mean at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll server an artery and he'll be dead in minutes. To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breath on his own, same bad results."

"You need a respirator, what else?" Otis said all of a sudden.

"The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes-" Hershel answered.

"If you had all that, you could save him?" Rick asked, looking like he could start crying again at any second.

"If I had all that, I could try." Hershel responded.

"Nearest hospital went up in flames months ago...The high school?" Otis questioned.

"That's what I was thinking. They set up a shelter they would have everything we need."

"Place was overrun last time I checked, maybe it's better now."

"Shit, I said leave the rest up to me, is it too late to take that back?" Shane asked, looking at Rick with a smile.

"I don't want you going alone." Rick stated, getting the authority back in his voice.

"C'mon give me a list, draw up a map." Shane said looking at Hershel.

"You won't need a map. Ill take you there. I'm responsible. Do you even know what the stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis said looking back and forth from Shane to Hershel.

"Come to think of it, no." Shane said, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his head.

"I was a volunteer EMT.. We could talk about this until next Sunday or do it right quick." Otis said, getting ready to leave the room.

"I'll take right quick." Shane said, following his lead.

"I'm coming with you!" Naomi said, speaking for the first time since getting on the farm.

Shane have her a look of annoyance but nodded his head at her.

She didn't care what he thought, she was going to do what she could for Carl and no one was going to stop her.

"The others.. They don't know where we are." Naomi said all of a sudden.

"I can find them and bring them back, how far out were you guys?" Maggie asked, looking concerned.

"C'mon girl, we ain't losing a life today! Rick, you tell her where to find our people. Naomi, move!" Shane demanded, pretty much out the door already.

Naomi gave Maggie an apologetic look and followed Shane out the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Daryl and Merle went back to the house they were all held up in. It was an upgrade from the almost burnt down motel they had been staying at.

Daryl managed to snag about four squirrels and a rabbit. Merle managed to find a bottle of vodka in some run down shack.

"Thank you, Daryl." Carol said when he had thrown the meat on the kitchen table.

Daryl nodded his head once and searched the house. He didn't realize he was looking for Naomi until he was standing outside hers and Andrea's room.

"She isn't back yet." Andrea said to him. She was reading her nephew a book, he was almost asleep in her arms.

Daryl went to say he wasn't looking for her but realized she would have saw through his lie.

As if reading his mind, Andrea smirked at him. "I know you're looking for her."

"Whatever." Daryl growled at her, making his way back to the kitchen.

"Is Rick back yet?" Daryl asked, walking up to Glenn.

"No. Shane and Naomi aren't back yet either." Glenn answered, looking concerned.

That's when they heard a knock at the door.

Walkers don't knock.. Who the fuck was at their door?

It was a cramped ride in the truck. Naomi sat in the middle, between Shane and Otis.

When they reached the high school they realized they were going to have a difficult time getting in and out.

"How are we doing this?" Naomi asked. She only had her knife and a hand gun on her. She didn't have much ammo left as it was.

Shane ignored her question and turned to Otis.

"In and out." Shane nodded his head. "You should just stay here, watch the truck. We don't want anymore fatalities if we can help it."

At first Naomi didn't realize he was talking to her.

"What?! What was the point in me even coming? I can help! I can watch your back." Naomi fought.

Shane laughed, literally laughed in her face.

"No, you're going to stay here. Keep an eye on things."

Naomi went to argue but Shane beat her to it, "Ya remember that deer, girl? You just kept on scaring it off because you couldn't pay attention to what you were doing! We ain't got the time for you to be fucking around."

And with that Otis and him left, leaving Naomi by herself in the truck.

"I ain't leaving with you! I ain't getting on your horse!" Daryl was yelling at the girl who was now in their kitchen. Everyone was in the room, listening to what the girl Maggie had to say.

Apparently Carl had been shot. At first Daryl didn't believe her. But she knew their names, but it could be a trap.

The girl looked innocent enough, but Daryl was on edge. Why weren't Naomi and Shane back yet? Could something have happened to them too?

"Rick said I need to bring Daryl back. And if that's you, you need to come with me. He's not in the greatest condition right now, his friend was calming him down but he left with one of our guys to go get the supplies we need to save Carl." Maggie said, her face full of impatience.

Daryl's mind was racing.

"Where's Naomi?" Daryl felt his temper rising when the girl had shown nothing but a confused expression on her face after he asked the question.

"There should have been a girl with them, is she at your farm?!" Daryl practically shouted, getting in the girls face.

Maggie looked scared, but only for a second. Now she had a look of loathing.

"You better back the hell up." Maggie said, voice laced with venom. "She went to get supplies. Now you're wasting time, lets go."

Maggie turned and walked out the door after that.

The kitchen was silent after Daryl's outburst. He chanced a look at Merle and saw he was looking at him with that shit eating grin of his.

Daryl quickly turned away and followed after Maggie.

********* "C'mon little brother! These ladies ain't gonna wait forever!"

Daryl was about 13, Merle had promised he could go out with him that night but it would be a double date.

Daryl ran down the stairs, excited to be spending time with his older brother. Merle was never around, he was always getting high or arrested.

After spending a whole night with Merle and his friends, Daryl thought he would try kissing the girl that Merle wasn't kissing. She hadn't really talked to him at all, she mainly sat on her phone looking bored.

Daryl didn't know how girls worked, but he figured since it was a double date he would have to kiss his date goodbye. She was pretty enough, and older than him.

But when he went to kiss her goodbye, she turned away and laughed in his face.

"Ew you're like 12, kid." She walked away after that, laughing with her friend following behind.

When Daryl turned to look at Merle he had that stupid smirk he always wore whenever Daryl made an ass out of himself.

"You have not a damn clue when it comes to girls, baby brother. Ya ain't ever gonna get laid."

Merle walked away from him, laughing too.

When Daryl got to the farm he didn't expect it to be so.. secluded. It was exactly the place they had all been looking for. A safe haven.

Rick was sitting next to Carl, they both looked like they'd been to hell and back.

Rick saw Daryl and he tried to smile, but it was a failed attempt.

"Where's Lori?" He asked, looking Daryl in his eyes.

Daryl was so thrown off by the question he thought maybe he had heard him wrong.

"Lori? Rick, Lori ain't here."

Daryl looked at the man named Hershel who was checking Carl's temperature.

"He must be in shock. I'm guessing you folks have been through a lot."

Daryl nodded his head and looked around the room. There were picture frames hanging from the wall, freshly watered plants in pots.. It was like the house hadn't been touched by all the madness going on around them. Aside from the fact Carl lay there shot.

He wondered how long it would take for Naomi and Shane to get supplies and whether or not he should go looking for her.

Naomi had been sitting in the truck for three hours. Just sitting. Waiting. How long should it take? She fought with herself on whether or not she should go looking for them. What if they didn't make it? She had to at least try to get something to save Carl. But she couldn't go in there alone, that would have been stupid.

After another half hour she decided that if they weren't back in an hour she would go looking. She didn't care anymore. She would help try to save Carl or die trying.

Forty five more minutes passed and she heard gun shots.

She jumped out of the truck, forgetting her gun on the seat and ran around the corner to see Shane and Otis running towards her with a herd of walkers on their tail.

Naomi ran towards them, determined to help.

But she stopped dead in her tracks when Shane turned and shot Otis in the leg.

Shane tore the backpack from Otis's back and ran towards Naomi, limping, while Otis was tore apart by walkers.

Shane stared at her like he couldn't figure whether or not she was real and then Naomi went to grab for the backpack.

"We gotta go." Naomi said calmly.

Shane let her take the backpack and then he started for the truck. Naomi moved as quickly as she could, but when she went to open the door to the truck a walker had grabbed her by the hair.

She fell back with a wail, she released the bag from her shoulders and crawled away as quickly as she could. With her back against the truck, she searched frantically for her knife while the walker crawled towards her. Shane had already thrown his backpack in the truck and walked over towards her.

_He was helping her. _Naomi thought to herself, surprised that he would even considerate it.

Her thoughts were quickly denied when Shane picked up the backpack and looked at her with a blank face.

Shane looked back towards the herd of walkers coming towards them.

Naomi didn't wait to see what Shane's next motive was, the walker was at her feet and she had just found her knife.

Trying to ignore the disgusting smell of decomposition, she held her breath and plunged the knife right in its head.

Naomi didn't know she could move at the speed of light. After she took down the walker, everything was a blur.

She took her knife out with trembling hands and pushed the walker off of her with all her strength. When Naomi got in the truck, Shane had thrown the second backpack in the back and was driving away before she could even close her door.

It was a lot to process. She watched a man get shot and left for dead. She herself had almost just died. Then there was the thought in the back of her head that Carl could be dead.

_Shane almost left her._

Naomi slowly shifted her eyes to look at Shane.

He was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove, his eyes were moving rapidly, like he was lost in deep thought while never taking his eyes off the road.

He didn't look like the man that had comforted Rick mere hours ago. He looked lost.. broken..

Naomi felt a sense of unease and looked out the window.

_He did it for Carl. _She thought to herself.

That had to be it. Shane's a lot of things but he wouldn't just shoot a guy in the leg and leave him for dead for no reason.

She thought back to Shane's limp, they both looked like they were piled up in shit, a herd of walkers getting ready for their next meal on their tail...

If Shane shot Otis, then Shane lived and saved Carl at the same time.

Naomi didn't disagree with Shane's actions, but she was scared knowing what had happened.

Would Shane tell everyone what really happened? Would he threaten to kill her if she told his secret? Is that why he just looked at her while she was about to be killed?

Naomi felt a moment of panic, "S-Shane?" She sputtered out. "I know why you did what you did, and I won't tell anyone.. I was just in the truck the whole time. Keeping watch."

She was shaking. Every part of her wanted to just be back home, her real home. She wanted her father. She wanted to be able to live every day not having to worry about a walking corpse destroying everything around her.

But that world, that world was gone. Things were never going to get back to the way they used to be.

Shane never answered her, it was like he hadn't even heard her.

The silent drive home drove her insane.

Once they could see the house, Shane finally cleared his throat, "Otis sacrificed himself. He said that if we didn't get the supplies back it would have all been for nothing. He died a hero."

He didn't look at her as he said it.

So that was the story they were going to tell? She felt relief at the fact that Shane at least trusted her to keep his secret.

She felt bad for Otis, he shouldn't have had to die like that. No one should have to die like that. She also felt a small sense of joy rising in her, they could save Carl.

After all the hell they had been through they could save Carl.

Naomi felt sick, she didn't know what to make of the uncertain emotions running through her head.

Their old world was falling apart, and their new one is going to either make you or break you.


	14. Chapter 14

Naomi sat in the kitchen with Maggie while Hershel tended to Carl. Maggie was fixing up something for Naomi to eat and Shane was with Rick waiting in the living room.

"I met your boyfriend earlier, he's got quite a temper." Maggie said smiling at Naomi as she handed her a bowl of soup and an apple.

"My boyfriend?" Naomi asked, caught off guard.

"Daryl?"

Naomi laughed and ran her fingers through her matted hair.

"Daryl isn't my boyfriend, but yeah, he does have a temper."

"For someone who's not your boyfriend he sure seemed worried about you." Maggie said with a wink.

"Is he here?"

"No, he left a few minutes before you got here to go get the rest of your people."

Naomi nodded her head and continued to eat the food Maggie gave to her.

She was so hungry that she finished all of her food within the next couple minutes.

"Thank you, I can't remember the last time I had soup.." Naomi said as she stood up to wash her bowl.

Maggie grabbed the bowl from Naomi and swatted her hand away when Naomi tried to take it back.

"You're a guest!" Maggie said with a laugh. "I'll take care of this. There's a bathroom upstairs, you can take a shower if you'd like."

"Really?" Naomi asked stunned.

"Really." Maggie smirked.

Naomi said her thanks once more and went up to the bathroom.

The shower felt so amazing that Naomi wondered if she was dreaming.

Her dirty, greasy red hair was now actually red instead of the auburn color it was turning. Her grubby skin actually felt soft, and there wasn't walker blood on her anymore. She smelled nice for a change.

When she looked in the mirror she laughed at how much she had let herself go.

"Shit." Naomi breathed.

She should have asked Maggie for clothes, there was no way she was putting her bloody, dirty set of clothes back on her body.

Naomi wrapped the towel around her and walked out of the bathroom. She really hoped Maggie wasn't outside, that would be a little embarrassing.

"You're disgusting."

Naomi heard Maggie and followed her voice. Who could she be calling disgusting?

She rounded the corner and saw the Dixon brothers standing next to Maggie.

"I forgot to ask before I went in the bathroom.. Do you have an extra set of clothes I can wear?" Naomi asked avoiding eye contact with both brothers.

"Of course!" Maggie said, seemingly delighted to be getting away from Daryl and Merle.

"I wouldn't mind ripping that towel off ya girl, I know you just got clean but we can sure as hell get dirty." Merle shouted to her as she walked away with Maggie.

"He's a pig." Maggie said, not amused.

"You just have to ignore him." Naomi answered.

"You need to learn when to shut up." Daryl said to Merle as he made his way outside.

His brother was quick to follow him and didn't speak again until they were well away from the house.

"Ya got anything else ya wanna say to me, little brother?" Merle challenged.

Daryl looked at him and turned away.

"Your little girlfriend has got a hold on you! Shit, I ain't never thought that a Dixon could be so pussy whipped."

"Ya better stop calling that stupid bitch my girlfriend cuz she ain't!" Daryl spat.

"Sorry, baby brother, I'll start referring to her as _'the bitch you use to get your dick wet_.'" Merle said, egging Daryl on and smirking.

Merle went to say something else but stopped himself when he saw Glenn walking over.

"Whaddya want?" Merle asked, agitated.

Glenn looked back and forth from Daryl to Merle and then spoke, keeping his eyes on Daryl.

"Shane says we're to set up a camp, out by the field."

"I don't give a shit what Shane said, I ain't nobody's bitch." Merle said, walking away.

"Well, go get the gear and lets do this, I ain't got all damn day!" Daryl said to Glenn, making him jump.

"A-Alright, I'll go get Carol and Andrea to help us."

Naomi was finally dressed, Maggie had found her an outfit with the help of her sister, Beth, who was the same age as Naomi and Carl.

"Thank you, you've done so much for us."

"It's no problem." Maggie said with a smile.

Naomi walked out of the house in search for Glenn, she saw him and a couple others near the field.

"Hey!" Naomi said smiling as she walked up to Glenn.

"Hi! I was wondering where you were."

"Well, here I am. I went with Shane to get supplies for Carl, and then Maggie let me shower."

"Maggie? The girl who got Daryl on the horse? She's really pretty."

Naomi laughed, "Aw, Glenn's got a crush!"

"Hey shut up, so don't you!" Glenn said laughing along and then looking over at Daryl.

Naomi felt her face flush and she stopped laughing.

"Get back to work, chinaman, ain't got time for small talk." Daryl said walking over.

He looked at Naomi with a blank face and opened and closed his mouth.

Naomi went to say something but he beat her to it, "Ya gonna just stand there and watch us or are ya gonna start pitching a tent?"

He walked away from her before she could say anything to him.

That was the first time he'd spoken to her in a week.

Naomi went to grab her tent and sleeping bag from the van and bumped into Andrea on the way over.

"Haven't seen you in a while!" Andrea said, stopping what she was doing.

"Yeah, had to go with Shane to get supplies for Carl."

"What happened? I mean, I know Carl got shot but no one dished out the details.. And I heard someone died?"

Naomi felt her throat tighten.

"Shane and I were in our grid, tracking a buck.. I scared it off a few times. We ended up wandering into Rick and Carl's grid and we heard a gun shot, then Rick was screaming. We found him and Carl.. and the buck. A man named Otis shot the buck and the bullet went through and hit Carl."

"Otis is the one who died," Naomi continued. "He came with Shane and I to get supplies. I was waiting in the truck and only Shane came back, he said Otis died a hero."

"Wow." Andrea said shaking her head. "I'm glad you guys are okay. Carl will be fine, he's a tough little shit."

"Yeah, he is." Naomi said smiling.

"Oh, Daryl seemed worried about you, did you see him yet?" Andrea asked quietly so only Naomi could hear.

Naomi scoffed. "Yeah, I saw him. He seemed real relieved to see me."

Andrea smirked at the sarcastic remark and went back to what she was doing.

Carol came over to them, a concerned look spread across her face.

"Nice to see you, Naomi." Carol smiled at her.

Naomi returned the gesture, "Same to you, Carol."

"Andrea, have you seen Ben?" Carol asked, her full attention now on Andrea.

"I told him to stay where we can all see him, but that he could check the place out." Andrea answered, looking around the yard for Ben.

"Ben?!" Andrea called out, dropping everything in her hands and running towards the house.

"Can't we have one good day?" Glenn asked as he finished pitching his tent.

"There ain't no 'good' days when the world is ending." Daryl answered.


	15. Chapter 15

"Alright, everyone has their section. You travel with a buddy, no exceptions. Can't afford to lose anymore able bodies." Shane said to the group as he put his hat on his newly shaved head.

Carol, Glenn, Andrea, Daryl, Naomi, and Shane gathered around the map they had laying on the hood of the van.

Ben had been missing since Carl had been declared saved. The group was on a roller coaster ride when it came to _luck._

Andrea stayed up crying the entire night, and Naomi didn't get any sleep because her tent was right next to Andrea's, but even if her weeping hadn't been keeping Naomi awake, the disturbing thoughts of Shane and Otis would have done the trick.

The Dixon's stayed well away from the group, in the outskirts of the field. Shane stayed inside with Carl and Rick, Naomi assumed he didn't get any sleep as well. Glenn had a tent pitched next to the van, where him and Carol slept.

"We need a buddy? What is this, daycare? I don't need a buddy," Daryl said and then let his eyes linger on Naomi, "they'll just slow me down."

"You have someone with you, or you don't go at all. You need someone out there watching your back," Shane answered, his voice raising with every word. "No matter how slow or incapable they may seem, they could mean life or death for you out there."

Daryl rolled his eyes and threw his crossbow over his back.

"Alright, Andrea, lets get going."

Shane and Andrea were the first to go, followed by Glenn and Carol, which meant Naomi would have to go with Daryl..

Once she realized this, she also realized that Daryl was walking away from her.

"Hey!" Naomi called out, running after him.

"You can't stay mad at me for forever," Naomi said with a smile and grabbed for his arm to stop him.

Daryl pulled his arm back so quickly that Naomi almost fell forward.

"What the fuck is with you?!" Naomi shouted at him then, she felt all the anger flowing through her. "At first I thought you were a nice guy, with an asshole exterior but you really are _just _an asshole, aren't you? And you heard what Shane said, we need to go in pairs!"

"I'm the asshole, girl? I'm here aren't I?! About to look for some kid that I don't even know, about to risk my life in the process, but I'm the asshole.. Why, cuz I won't talk to you? You're a real egotistical piece of shit."

The sound of Naomi's hand colliding with Daryl's face was satisfying.

"Fuck you, Daryl."

Naomi was anything but egotistical. She would put her life on the line to save any one in the group if it came down to it, even Merle. She couldn't believe that Daryl would think of her like that.

She didn't know where she was going but she was happy to be away from Daryl, he can venture off alone all he wants. She found herself walking in the house and decided she would go check on Carl and Rick.

To Naomi's surprise, Carl was conscious.

"Are you the one who shot me?" Carl asked with a hint of humor in his voice, he sounded so weak.

"No way, my instructor always taught me to check my surroundings." She answered with a wink.

Naomi immediately regretted her choice of actions once Carl turned away from her to look at his father.

"How are you feeling? Both of you?" Naomi asked pointing her question more at Rick so she didn't make Carl feel more uncomfortable.

"I'll feel better when he does." Rick answered, wearing an exhausted smile. "I heard everyone was going out to look for Ben this morning, when are you leaving?"

"Soon, I just wanted to see how you guys were holding up." Naomi looked over at Carl again and saw that he was staring at her. She couldn't tell if he looked upset or just tired.

"Well we appreciate it. Good luck out there today." Rick answered for them both.

Naomi said her thanks and left the room wondering if she should have said more to Carl. She'd have to explain to him at some point what happened, she didn't want to lose his friendship. He'd have to get over it.

Naomi walked all the way out to the Dixon's camp in search of Daryl. She hoped he wasn't stupid enough to go out alone but her suspicions were confirmed when all she found was Merle.

"Damn sugar, you look even sexier than you did yesterday in that towel, now hows about we take off all our clothes and have ourselves a little party." Merle suggested while licking his lips.

"Where's Daryl?" Naomi asked, trying her best to forget everything Merle had just said.

"Still barking up that tree? My little brother doesn't got it in him to make ya feel the way I could make ya feel."

Merle was standing over her, reaching out to touch her face.

Thoughts of George came spiraling back and she backed up, almost tripping over a rock in the process.

"Don't touch me." Naomi growled.

"You're feisty today, sugar. I like a challenge."

"Do you at least know which way he went? He's alone and we're supposed to be with someone, we don't know the area, he could get hurt."

Merle started laughing at Naomi then. She was so sick of everyone laughing at her, she never particularly thought she was a funny person.

"Damn girl, you really got it bad for him don't ya? My baby brother has been taking care of himself for a long time, I doubt he would ever need saving from a girl like you."

Naomi turned her head and looked towards the wooded area they were supposed to be searching for Ben in.

She could go looking by herself then, she didn't need anyone's help.

Naomi started walking away from Merle as she was checking her handgun and turning the safety off.

"Hey, where you going?!" Merle called out after her.

"I've got a job to do." Naomi stated solemnly.

"Then looks like I'm coming with you, ya gotta go in pairs, remember?"


	16. Chapter 16

Naomi plunged her knife into the walkers head after Merle knocked it down.

"Nice work, darlin'." Merle smirked.

Naomi rolled her eyes. "That's the seventh one we've seen, we gotta let Shane know.. They're getting pretty close to the farm."

"You answer to Shane now?"

Naomi sighed and turned to look at Merle, "No. But Rick's going through a lot right now and he doesn't need the burden of knowing there could be walkers at our door."

Merle nodded his head once and continued walking. They had been out searching for about 5 hours now.

"Why the hell would this kid wander off? He knows what's out there." Naomi thought aloud.

"Ya really think we're gonna find the kid? Hell, if we find him ya think he's even gonna be alive?"

"I'm not going to think otherwise."

Merle scoffed. "Think whatever you want to, sugar. You'll see."

In the back of her mind Naomi thought he was right. How could a kid with no weapon surive in this world they live in now? There was no way. Even if the kid had miraculously found a weapon, he had no training.

A rustle near by made Naomi jump.

"Just 'nother walker, I got it." Merle said, walking off to handle the new problem.

Naomi leaned against a tree and looked around, they were surrounded by woods and the dead.

"You come out here looking for me?"

Naomi jumped a mile. Daryl had snuck up on her from behind, she hadn't even heard him.

"If I was a walker, you'd be dead right now. Pay more attention." Daryl crossed his arms at her.

"If you were a walker, I would have heard you.. You're the one creeping around.. And I didn't come out here looking for you, we're looking for the kid."

"Sure as hell don't look like you're looking for anything." Daryl said back.

Thoughts of Naomi slapping him earlier came back to her and she felt bad for a moment. Why was he even talking to her?

"There you are baby brother, Naomi was just talking about how we should look for ya!" Merle said as he walked up to them.

Naomi felt her face get red and she watched as Merle's smirk grow huge.

Daryl cleared his throat awkwardly, "We should probably head back, I seen a lot of walkers out here, should let Shane know about that."

Naomi gave Merle an 'I told you so' look and started back towards the farm.

Every minute or so, Naomi would feel Daryl's eyes on her. She didn't know if he was looking at her with hatred or not, but she didn't want to look at him to find out.

Once they were back at the farm, they saw that everyone had made it back safely and were all gathered around the map on the hood of the van.

"Did you find anything?" Andrea was the first to speak to them.

Naomi shook her head sadly, and Andrea turned away and put her head in her hands.

"Tomorrow, it's the same routine. We go out in pairs and you'll expand your grid." Shane put his arm on Andrea's shoulder. "We'll find him, alright?"

Maggie came over to everyone then to say dinner was ready. Naomi noticed a friendly exchange between her and Glenn, that made her smile.

"Shane," Daryl called over, Merle stayed by Daryl's side.

Shane glared at Naomi for a moment and turned his attention towards the Dixons.

Naomi decided to join the conversation.

"We saw a lot of walkers out there today, you think we should have two people doing watch? Take it in shifts?"

After Daryl posed his question, Shane seemed to relax.

Maybe he thought that Naomi had said something to them, and that's why he glared at her just then.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Christ, just what we need, a horde of walkers at our doors... We'll figure something out after dinner."

Shane went inside, and Merle followed. Daryl turned around and went to head to his tent in the outskirts of the farm.

Naomi almost went to go inside but she decided against it, she turned around as well and followed Daryl.

Halfway to Daryl's tent, he stopped in his tracks and didn't bother to turn around before he spoke, "Unlike you, I actually know when someone is creeping up behind me."

"I'm not creeping." Naomi stated.

"What do you want? You wanna hit me again? Will that make you feel better?"

Naomi's heart sank.

"No, I wanted to apologize."

"I don't want your apology."

Naomi walked closer to him, that's when he turned around.

He didn't look angry then, he kept a blank expression on his face.

"I'm giving you an apology whether you want it or not. I shouldn't have hit you, there's no excuse for it."

Daryl studied her for a moment and brought himself to look in her eyes.

Naomi don't know what came over her, she had no explanation as to why she did it, or if she even meant to..

She brought her hand up to Daryl's face and he flinched away, she held still for a moment and then brought her hand up to push her fingers through his matted down hair.

Before Daryl could argue against her actions or move away from her, she pulled his head closer to hers and put her lips on his.

Naomi had never experienced a kiss like that one before, it was hot, electrifying, and very short lived.

Before Naomi knew it, Daryl had pulled away and had basically run to his tent. She was left standing there in shock, she brought her hand up to touch her lips.

The best part about that moment, was when their lips met, she hadn't thought about George. Naomi didn't bitch out and run away like she had with Carl, she didn't feel sick or scared.

She felt nervous now though, she had no idea what Daryl was thinking. Had she just fucked everything up more than it already was?


End file.
